Airway Inflammation and Remodeling in Asthma -- Airway Inflammation and Remodeling in Asthma -- Sample Collection -- Biopsy Techniques -- Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) -- Nasal Secretions and Exudations -- Sample Collection -- Induced Sputum -- Induced Sputum -- Measurement of Exhaled Nitric Oxide and Carbon Monoxide -- Measurement of Exhaled Hydrocarbons -- Breath Condensate as a Vehicle for Collection of Inflammatory Mediators, Especially Hydrogen Peroxide -- Cell Isolation and Culture -- Airway Epithelial Cells (Primaries vs Cell Lines) -- Isolation and Culture of Human Alveolar Type II Pneumocytes -- Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells -- Isolation and Culture of Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells -- Isolation and Purification of Human Mast Cells and Basophils -- Neutrophils -- Macrophages -- Collection, Separation, and Activation of Human T Lymphocytes -- Eosinophils -- Gene Expression/Regulation -- Analysis of Gene Expression -- Analysis of Gene Expression -- The Technique of In Situ Hybridization -- Measurement of Airway Mucin Gene Expression -- Transcription Factors and Inflammatory Gene Regulation -- Mediators -- Inflammatory Mediators in Spontaneously Produced Sputum -- Flow Cytometry -- Measurement of Granulocyte Pharmacodynamics in Whole Blood by Flow Cytometry -- Current In Vitro Models of Leukocyte Migration -- Tracing Intracellular Mediator Storage and Mobilization in Eosinophils -- Measurement of Metalloproteinases -- Immunocytochemistry and Immunohistochemistry -- The Measurement of Cysteinyl Leukotrienes in Urine -- Quantitative Analysis of Cyclooxygenase Metabolites of Arachidonic Acid -- Quantitative Analysis of F2 Isoprostanes.

Airway inflammation is now recognized as central to the pathophysiology of several major respiratory conditions-the two most common being asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In Human Airway Inflammation: Sampling Techniques and Analytical Protocols, experienced basic and clinical investigators describe a wide range of readily reproducible methods for sampling, isolating, and culturing all of the major inflammatory cells involved in the pathophysiology of asthma and COPD. The collection techniques detailed here involve biopsy and sampling of airway liquids such as sputum and exhaled gases such as nitric oxide. Also provided is a full range of methods for the isolation and characterization of cells and for the measurement of many of the major inflammatory markers, along with protocols for measuring the inflammatory mediators and enzymes released during lung inflammation. Each user-friendly method contains all the essential step-by-step elements the researcher must navigate from sample collection to analysis, and includes notes on how to avoid problems. Among the more advanced techniques are the measurement of exhaled hydrocarbons and F2 isoprostanes, granulocyte pharmacodynamics in whole blood measured by flow cytometry, and tracing mediator trafficking in eosinophils using confocal microscopy. Comprehensive and highly practical, the methods presented in Human Airway Inflammation: Sampling Techniques and Analytical Protocols provide today's basic and clinical researchers with all the major techniques for investigating airway inflammation, and powerfully illuminate many novel targets for emerging drugs.